Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-01-17

We are all familiar with the dog
geTel song in which a votary e1-
I. presses his love of the Little Brown
/ Jng." The grand object of our or
der is to overthrow the influence of
this charmer in the jug. There is
smother little brown idol which men
set up and worship which Is causing
more suffering in this country
/ than aIcOhOl. In state of nature
II Is s. plant bearing the botanical
name NiootiRa TobucuDa. and belongs
the nightshade family, this partic-
uIar genus receiving its name from
/ Nicot. French ambassador to PoT-
/ tUgal. The common name BY which
We know the plant and its mannfsc-
tured product is tobacco We Good
Templars are known 10 many as fa-
natics. temperance fanatics, they call
Us. To the people who consider Us
/ in that light any mental vagaries will
not be surprising. Ny mania has
assumed a slightly different aspect
I than that OF some. While / am with
1 the rest of you in the very absurd
/ idea that alcohol is poison, a dead
/ IL enemy of mankind, : thing caus-
ing untold misery to thousands Of my
race. | have another equally as alb
surd Illusion. and with your pei mis-
sion l will tell you little about il.
knowing that those OF you who do
not look upon these things as We do
will pity my delusion. and hoping
that there may be some one here
upon whom this tyrant has not as
vet riveted his chains. who may take
home something of the truth and re-
solve from this hour not to use to-
baceo in any form
AS 4 preliminary let me give you a
few figures: From the last census
report / learn that tobacco is raised
in every state and territory of the
Union except perhaps Utah, Monta-
IA and Wyoming. but that as a sta
pie crop il IS produced in only l6
states, producing 469. .616.302 lbs.
out OF the total 462. .761.158 lbs.
grown in the United States. The
country upon which this crop was
grown embraces 8 range of % de-
grees of latitude and 81 degrees of
longitude. and includes 638, ,844
acres in actual cultivation. In 1880
there were 89,806, ,801 pounds of
plug tobacco. 1852, ISL pounds fue
cut. 35.331, ,999 lbs. smoking and
3.977.224 lbs. of snuff. making a to-
Ie.4 80 -A-o-o0- ---7~ H1H IA e-O
tured in the United States. Add to
this 2.499. 80, ,189 cigars. and 534,-
192.192 cigarettes and you have a
q grand total OF 207, ,149.784 pounds
of tobacco manufactured in the Unit
ed States in one year. The value of
this mass was s116.772. .631, and
there were employed in the manufac-
ture Of tobacco an army Of %. .291,
earning s1s.464. .662, and in that of
cigars another Of 32,756, earning
s6.419.024. which together makes
6.O53 persons with wages amount
ing to s24. .883, $50. More. people
are engaged in making this weed
suitable for consumption than there
are in the FIVE counties Of Grand Isle,
Franklin, Orleans, Essex and Gale
donia combined, and earning wages /
that amount TO about one half the
value of the entire personal property
taxed in Vermont. For the ten years, /
ending June 80, 1881, we learn that /
the average consumption of this !
product had been about five pounds |
TO each individual iu the entire coun- /
try. In other words, every man, wo- |
man and child had used half pound /
Of tobacco each year. These figures |
are appalling in their magnitude Let /
Us take a narrower horizon Thro' /
the kindness of one of our merchants /
| have the figures from his invoices /
for the past eleven months of this /
year. Simply to keep up his stock /
he has bought nearly s400 worth OF /
tobacco. and he assures me he has /
reduced the stock with which he be- /
gan the year quite a good deal. His |
largest months purchase was $500. /
Understand these are the cost figures; /
to them We must add freight and pro-
fl which VII amount 10, al least, 25 /
per cent, and ] dare say more, and /
the people Of this town have paid /
one man more than $500 for tobacco.
Then bear in mind that there are FIVE /
places in town where tobacco in some
form is sold, and you can't call it
that less than $4,000, and I think 4
g, 800 would be pearer correct, are
paid out in the town for an article 4
that is worse than useless. In 1880 +
the population Of the town was 1864. /
On this estimate, calling persons a
family. there is s11.75 spent to each /
family in town, enough to buy two /
barrels of -four a year for each fami- 4
Iy IN toBn. This town L. no worse 4
than others 10 this respect. 50 using
it as a standard, and multiplying
81 900 by Il the number Of towns i
in the county, you will hnd that the /
people Of Orleans county 10 this year
of 1856 have smoked. sn0ffed and
chewed up s36 900 in THE way.
Think for moment that the grand
list Of the county tue present year is
s95. .5j9- SO. and you will see that we